Justis Huni HW prospect

[SportsRatings]

Great prospect or another Oceania fizzle out?

I think he's looking pretty good

• 21 years old
• beats Faiga Opelu in his debut - that's a tough debut fight to take (won Aussie HW title)
• 7th round TKO & was winning 60-54 on every card (boxrec has scorecards backwards)
• Bronze medal at 2019 World Championships

When I saw the (incorrect) scorecards at first I thought he looks like another Deontay Wilder...bronze medal, young start, but loses on cards before getting the KO. But then I read articles about the fight and he won every round and is a technical boxer.

Anyone follow him, have a scouting report?

[gregregegg]

Huni is a great prospect and I’d recommend keeping an eye on him. 21, good amateur, good style, can fight a bit switch stance and is starting his career aggressively.

His pro debut was a 10 rounder for an Australian title against a tough as nails opelu who was 13-1 and boxrec ranked 52 going into the fight. And it was a proper fight, huni won and won every round but not a breeze, and he was in a proper fight. brave opener for someone 21, on a legit pro debut (no World Series boxing fights).

He is booked in December for another 10 rounder against another tough opponent, Fosso. Big strong cammaroonian that decided to never go home after the Gold Coast commonwealth games and then pro. only 3-0 butstopped them all quick.

If huni wins in December he will have had more good fights in 2 months of being pro than half the prospects have had in 2 years.

[oogiebe]

Quick hands. Good fundamentals. Terrific counter hook. We'll see when he steps up in compeitition.

[margaret thatcher]

Ya good prospect for sure, very young and looks good to the eye, had a good shot at an olympic medal but more interesting to see him turn pro (i suppose these days you can do both lol)

that's the type of matchmaking i like to see, these elite ams have no reason to can crush, they fought vastly better opposition all ready so no need to lower themselves so much

[gregregegg]

Ya good prospect for sure, very young and looks good to the eye, had a good shot at an olympic medal but more interesting to see him turn pro (i suppose these days you can do both lol)

that's the type of matchmaking i like to see, these elite ams have no reason to can crush, they fought vastly better opposition all ready so no need to lower themselves so much

Agree no need to crush cans, especialy for olympians or WSB competitors,, but at 21 and neither i Still think probably should take a 4 rounder, then a 6, then an 8, then a 10.... taper in. Not because you cant handle the opponent, just cause you never quite know how the Adrenalin will hit you and dont wanna be gassing in the 8th round first time out. Just like if i knew someone was a great swimmer in a pool, i wouldent throw them in a massive swell first day at the beach.

But he got through it, got a solid 7 rounds experience, and so keep it rolling. problem is he will run out of decent levle Australasian opponents very soon.

[morm]

Ya good prospect for sure, very young and looks good to the eye, had a good shot at an olympic medal but more interesting to see him turn pro (i suppose these days you can do both lol)

that's the type of matchmaking i like to see, these elite ams have no reason to can crush, they fought vastly better opposition all ready so no need to lower themselves so much

Good spoken.. i agree

[candyslim]

Yeah I like of him very much. He can box and he has very good hand-speed. He's perhaps a little on the short side if we are talking about his prospects among the elite, but he'll be in the top twenty very shortly if the matchmaking stays as ambitious as it has been so far … Faiga Opelu as a debut opponent FFS! That is what I like to see.

[punchoutsb]

Like most, I like what I see so far. He handled a fairly tough regional out for his first opponent. For 21 he looks great, and the fact that he already has power at 21 bodes well.

With that being said, and no disrespect to my friends down under, but if he wants to make a real go at this he needs to leave Australia. If he were my fighter I'd probably have him fight 5-6 times in Oz with a culminating match against Browne before packing up and moving to a bigger market you can find better sparring partners and coaches for HW's.

[pound per pound]

A good young prospect. Good skills. Fast hands. Medium level power. Not a big heavyweight.

[margaret thatcher]

justis added his 3rd win, tko 1 victory over 2-0 jack maris

[candyslim]

Not entirely unexpected, eh?

[margaret thatcher]

i for one am shocked, i think we all believed that he had little chance vs hammering jack maris

[Boxtune]

Any heavyweight under 6'5" and with small structure, is not going to make it these days, unless very heavy puncher and fast

[gregregegg]

Any heavyweight under 6'5" and with small structure, is not going to make it these days, unless very heavy puncher and fast

Huni would knock efe into next week and he is 3-0 and 21....

[Boxtune]

Any heavyweight under 6'5" and with small structure, is not going to make it these days, unless very heavy puncher and fast

Huni would knock efe into next week and he is 3-0 and 21....

everyone has became Anti efe

[candyslim]

i for one am shocked, i think we all believed that he had little chance vs hammering jack maris

You politicians and your porkies. I know that you know Jack Maris had about as much chance against Huni as would a Maris Piper

everyone has became Anti efe

I'm not at all anti Efe but I do suspect he would not be able to cope with Huni's speed and superior skills. Boxing seems to come very naturally to Huni whereas Efe has to work hard to make any progress.

[Beltane]

Huni is certainly a prospect based on his first fight, and is preserving himself for the Tokyo Olympics, hence the recent fight against Jack Maris.

Maris entered the ring not having fought for over a year, and in that last bout he out-pointed Clarence Tillman, whose recent claim to fame was being winless his last 19 fights.

Against Huni, Maris threw a few wild round arm punches, and soon Huni caught him on the ropes and commenced a serious pummelling. The ref stepped and it was all over within the 1st round.

Maris complained voraciously that the stoppage was premature, but he was not throwing anything back, and the ref did the right thing.

After the Olympics, his handlers need to progressively step him up in class, and to test his chin as he recently had some time out due to concussion.

[margaret thatcher]

was he ko'd in sparring?

if so, i will bet on it now that he has a very successful pro career

[margaret thatcher]

not the most original comparison, but those fast flurries remind me of early parker. plus similar size. plus both samoan dudes

[Beltane]

The concussion was reputedly suffered when he was thrown onto his head on a pavement while skylarking with a friend.

Boys will be boys.

[margaret thatcher]

needs to step his skylarking game up then, too many weaknesses

[gregregegg]

I hear Eddie Hearn has secured a rematch for the 3-1 huni against the relatively unknown 1-0 bit of sidewalk.

[JamesPhilips]

was he ko'd in sparring?

if so, i will bet on it now that he has a very successful pro career

Good point. Considering AJ gets Ko’d in every spar he’s done OK

[gregregegg]

Huni went 10 rounds with another tough customer. Bit of a war early. Huni hurt in the 2nd, dropped in the 4th (although not called) and broke his hand some time around the 8th.

Huni seems to lack a bit of power, and seems to fight entertaining rather than fighting smart a lot of the time. which is good for the fans, but might stunt his progress if his hands and brain take too much punnishment in the early stages of his carrer. but he still has fast hands and class combonations.

Love huni taking real fights early on Fought opelu (boxrecs number 40) on debut as a 21 year old, and is continuing to fight tough guys, but some of these islanders are just a bit too tough for his young lil hands. might need to target some non Polynesians for the next couple of fights....

p.s The full fights on youtube if you search 'Justis Huni vs. Kiki Toa Leutele (04.11.2022)' . worth a watch if you like a fun heavyweight fight.

2 lots of broken hands, gettting hurt a few times, and not finnishing people has my opinions on huni hushed a little bit, but still a world class prospect at 23.

[oogiebe]

Huni went 10 rounds with another tough customer. Bit of a war early. Huni hurt in the 2nd, dropped in the 4th (although not called) and broke his hand some time around the 8th.

Huni seems to lack a bit of power, and seems to fight entertaining rather than fighting smart a lot of the time. which is good for the fans, but might stunt his progress if his hands and brain take too much punnishment in the early stages of his carrer. but he still has fast hands and class combonations.

Love huni taking real fights early on Fought opelu (boxrecs number 40) on debut as a 21 year old, and is continuing to fight tough guys, but some of these islanders are just a bit too tough for his young lil hands. might need to target some non Polynesians for the next couple of fights....

p.s The full fights on youtube if you search 'Justis Huni vs. Kiki Toa Leutele (04.11.2022)' . worth a watch if you like a fun heavyweight fight.

2 lots of broken hands, gettting hurt a few times, and not finnishing people has my opinions on huni hushed a little bit, but still a world class prospect at 23.

He may be fun to watch, but he's no world class prospect.